Louis CK regrets comparing Donald Trump to Hitler. But he’s not going to take it back.
John Mayer at The Air Canada Centre
By Dawn Hamilton
A wave of anticipation buzzed throughout the Air Canada Centre, captivating the sold out audience from the very first note of “Belief” to the very last note of “You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me”. It has been quite some time since John Mayer has graced a Toronto stage and the fans couldn’t have been any more appreciative. John stepped out on stage to deafening screams and started off the night with “Belief” from his album Continuum. The backline (drums etc) were all on risers with rollers which made it easily moveable as the night was broken up into chapters, a timeline if you will, over the various periods of John’s musical career. Much to my delight with Chapter One (The Band) performed “Why Georgia” from the album “Room For Squares”. The LED floor and LED wall made for a simple, yet effective, ambiance which filled the Air Canada Centre with ease. John even made light of the photographers during the third song, letting the fans know that the photographers in the pit would be leaving after this song and he wanted great photos for the papers tomorrow and posed for them. Being a photographer for tonight’s show as well I laughed due to the fact that not many artists acknowledge the photographers and for him to make note of it and pose was definitely a memorable experience for myself. Thanks John!
Chapter Two (Acoustic) The whole entire stage was transformed, the backline now hidden by the LED wall and nothing was left on stage but two microphones and a bridge. This made way for a special guest appearance by none other Canada’s own Shawn Mendes. John explained that earlier he was talking to Shawn about performing with him and Shawn told John he wasn’t going to tell his friends he was performing “I am just going to tell them I am going to the bathroom”. I am quite curious what the aftermath of this conversation was when Shawn got off stage. I was very impressed with their performance of “Mercy” and “In Your Atmosphere” mashed up into one song, their voices melted perfectly together and I wish Shawn had the opportunity to be on stage with John a little longer.
Chapter Three (JMT, John Mayer Trio) This portion of the evening would only last three songs but it was a powerful three. Playing “Who Did You Think I Was”, “Crossroads”, and “Wait Until Tomorrow”. The audience seemed memorized and they sat there just taking it all in. I did however hear screams from the audience of “I love you” and “We’re not worthy” bellowing from the fans in my section of the arena.
Chapter Four (The Band Reprise) The 7 piece band was now back on stage ready to rock the rest of the night starting with “Waitin’ On The Day” from “Paradise Valley” and the audience leapt back to their feet. I did find at this point of the night the audience was up and down like a toilet seat at a mixed party. After every song they sat back down only to jump back up at the next song realizing how much they loved the next song as well.
Ending the evening with style the backline disappeared again and there was nothing left on stage but a piano and John Mayer. The LED wall and floor was completely white. A piano was wheeled to the middle of the stage. John sat behind the piano and played “Wheel”, “You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me” and “In Repair”. The fans in the audience sang their hearts out, and it seemed to be a fitting ending to an amazing show. If you missed this concert you are in luck he will be back in Toronto this summer and I highly recommend it. John Mayer has named this tour and his new album “The Search For Everything” and in my books he has found it all already.
Once again thanks to the crew because without them there would be no show!
(Review and photos done by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com)
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That Time The Beastie Boys Recorded A Secret Country Album
Country Mike’s Greatest Hits is the legendary full-length country album recorded by the Beastie Boys. Never officially released, it was originally only given out to family and friends of the Beasties as a Christmas gift back in 1999, and bootlegs started showing up a few years later. It has proven to be a very hot collectible, supposedly fetching as much as $400 on eBay.
The only official reference to the album appears on the Beastie Boys compilation The Sounds of Science, which also includes two songs, “Railroad Blues” and “Country Mike’s Theme”. In the liner notes, Adam Yauch explains:
“At some point after Ill Communication came out, Mike got hit in the head by a large foreign object and lost all of his memory. As it started coming back he believed that he was a country singer named Country Mike. The psychologists told us that if we didn’t play along with Mike’s fantasy, he could be in grave danger. Finally he came back to his senses. This song (“Railroad Blues”) is one of the many that we made during that tragic period of time.”
Here is “Country Mike’s Greatest Hits” in full, for your listening pleasure.
Carl Newman of The New Pornographers on Downbeat Lyrics, Upbeat Music
I think there may be a logic behind our songs. They’ve always been like that. I think, for me, you listen to music and it makes you feel better. A lot of people listen to music and it makes them feel better when they’re feeling lousy. That translates into me making music. I make music to make myself feel better. I think of pop songs that I love. I’ve always loved these epic, sugary pop songs, like “Daydream Believer” or “Happy Together,” so when I’m writing songs, I just naturally go in that direction. But that’s a product of something being rough in your life. You’re writing music just to make yourself feel better. So lyrically, it may be a little downbeat, but the music is very upbeat. – Carl Newman of The New Pornographers
Violent Femmes, Echo & the Bunnymen Announce North American Tour
The Violent Femmes and Echo & The Bunnymen announced a North American tour that proves the 80s are not even close to being a memory yet.
The groups’ North American tour begins July 11th in Philadelphia, and ends August 3rd in Vancouver.
The Violent Femmes are still touring in support of their critically acclaimed album “We Can Do Anything,” which was their first album in 15 years. Violent Femmes reunited at Coachella in 2013 and then in 2016 made their first network TV live appearance in 16 years, performing “Memory” on CBS’ Late Show with Stephen Colbert as well as their legendary song, “Blister in the Sun,” with Colbert on vocals. The video was seen everywhere and even became the #1 trending topic on Facebook the day it was released. The Violent Femmes continue to appeal to new generations of fans, and recently found a new fan in author JK Rowling who humorously rated the band 8.5 out 10 on the eclectic Ruth and Martin’s Album Club blog. Violent Femmes are currently recording their new album, which will be released later in the year.
‘Meteorites’ is the eleventh studio album by Echo & The Bunnymen and was released May 26th, 2014 on 429 Records/Caroline. It does, indeed, sound like an exhilarating renaissance, an intricately crafted work with a poetic brilliance and emotional grandeur that places it on a par with the Bunnymen’s greatest records from the ‘80s and ‘90s, notably pysch-pop debut ‘Crocodiles’ (1980), the majestic ‘Heaven Up Here’ (1981), orchestral-rock masterpiece ‘Ocean Rain’ (1984) and Britpop-era comeback ‘Evergreen’ (1997).
The complete Violent Femmes/Echo & The Bunnymen tour dates are below:
Jul 11 – Philadelphia – Skyline Stage at the Mann
Jul 12 – Brooklyn – Ford Ampitheater at Coney Island
Jul 14 – Asbury Park – Stone Pony Summerstage
Jul 15 – Boston – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
Jul 17 – Pittsburgh – Stage AE
Jul 18 – Detroit – Meadow Brook Ampitheatre
Jul 19 – Columbus – Express Live Outdoor Stage
Jul 21 – Milwaukee – BMO Harris Pavillion
Jul 23 – Chicago – Huntington Bank Pavilion
Jul 25 – Kansas City – Crossroads KC
Jul 26 – Denver – Fillmore Auditorium
Jul 29 – Costa Mesa – Pacific Ampitheatre
Jul 30 – Saratoga/San Jose – The Mountain Winery
Aug 1 – Portland – Oregon Zoo Ampitheatre
Aug 2 – Seattle – Woodland Park Zoo Ampitheatre
Aug 3 – Vancouver – PNE Ampitheatre
The Beatles Releasing 6-CD Box Set of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
Details have started to emerge as the Beatles prepare a 50th anniversary reissue of 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – including a release date and information regarding various formats.
An expanded six-disc Super Deluxe Edition is being offered, as are two-CD, two-LP and single-disc configurations. There’s no word yet on what extras these sets will include, though rumors have abounded that the Beatles might restore both “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane,” two standalone singles recorded during the same sessions.
George Martin, the Beatles’ longtime producer, was once quoted as saying that releasing that those two tracks four months before the arrival of Sgt. Pepper, rather than including them in the original running order, was “a truly terrible mistake.” However it shakes out, the set already has a fan in Ringo Starr, who was apparently very pleased with the sound of these polished-up four-track recordings.
The Sgt. Pepper Super Deluxe Edition is listed for $149.98, while the others range from $18.98-$38.98. They all share the same release date of May 26, 2017.
UK vinyl sales hit a 25-year high in 2016
We hardly need more convincing of vinyl’s resurgence over the past few years, but a report from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) today details that more records were sold in the UK in 2016 than have been for the past 25 years. Based on Official Charts Company data, over 3.2 million vinyls were purchased in 2016 — a volume the BPI predicted early last year— representing a 53 percent increase over 2015 and the highest total since 1991. The death of several music icons no doubt helped (for lack of a better word), with David Bowie’s Blackstar being the best-selling vinyl of the year.
Other formats didn’t fare so well in 2016. CD sales declined by over 10 percent, and downloads slipped even further, by almost 30 percent.
More people than ever are streaming music, as you’d probably expect. In fact, 45 billion audio streams were served in 2016, which is a mammoth 68 percent increase over the previous year — and that doesn’t even include YouTube data. And in December, more than 1 billion audio streams were served in a single week for the first time.
Stephen Curry Has a New Life Coach – James Corden!
James Corden heads to Northern California to spend time with Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, and the two play some mini golf and take a ride in the carpool lane with some Disney songs.
This Guy Won 15,000 Stuffed Animals From Claw Machines Last Year
Chen Zhitong has a unique talent: he’s a claw machine master. Yeah, those stuffed-animal-stuffed glass boxes at kid-friendly restaurants and amusement parks, THOSE rage-inducing claw machines. Last year alone, Chen won *15,000* toys from claw machines. He tells how – and why — he’s made claw machine mastery his vocation.
U2 producer now working for KFC
Steve Lillywhite knows a thing or two about making music that sells. That six-time Grammy winning producer has worked on multiplatinum recordings with artists including U2, the Killers and the Rolling Stones.
Now Mr. Lillywhite is proving he knows how to sell music, too, although in a very unexpected way. He is the chief executive of Jagonya Music & Sport Indonesia, a company in Jakarta, Indonesia, that bundles recorded CDs with fast food at Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants throughout that country.
“My job is basically like running a record label, except this record label also happens to sell chicken,” said Mr. Lillywhite, 62, who acts as a curator, choosing the music that goes into the Indonesian KFCs. (At the moment, the songs come exclusively from Indonesian artists, though he hopes to expand.) “Record companies pitch artists to me and I’ll say either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Or I’ll approach an unsigned artist and say, ‘I will guarantee you a slot in KFC if you sign directly with us,’” he said in an interview at Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan, while listening to a new U2 song he’s producing. The company orders CDs from a distributor and pays a percentage of the sales to KFC, as well as royalties to the artists.
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Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.
Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com
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